Automotive audio systems commonly are equipped with AM and FM tuning, cassette tape players, and compact disk players or changers so that a great variety of programming is available for listening by the vehicle occupants. It is also commonplace to equip such systems with front and rear speakers. Thus all the occupants listen to the same music or other program, even though they may have different preferences. It has been proposed to allow rear seat occupants to listen to headphones in the rear and to permit the programming to be selected by controls accessible to the rear occupants, and even allows the speakers to be turned off. However, giving control to the rear passengers does not resolve the difference in preferences but merely transfers the control from front to the rear. Moreover, driver assistance is required in turning on the headphones or turning off the radio while the headphones are playing.